Fiber optic technology has found numerous uses in signal and light transmission applications. In the automotive industry, fiber optic technology has been proposed for use in sensing devices in which light is transmitted and subsequently detected, with a change in the light signal serving to indicate a change in the status of a vehicle system. Fiber optic technology has also been investigated for use in vehicle lighting systems, such as the backlighting of an instrument panel in the passenger compartment. In such an application, there are several advantages to using fiber optics in place of conventional lighting sources. These advantages include reduced power consumption, high light output intensity for a given amount of space within the instrument panel, the ability to light remote areas with a single light source, reduced heating of the instrument panel because the light source is remotely located and because optical fibers do not transmit any significant amount of heat, lighting uniformity, lower installation, replacement and repair costs because the light source can be accessibly located remote from its intended target, and higher efficiency resulting in the requirement for fewer light sources for a given application.
To facilitate assembly, instrument panel clusters are often manufactured as modules which assemble as units onto a vehicle. Therefore, an optical fiber which is to deliver light to a particular button or cluster can be configured as an integral part of the module, and the light source of the system can be installed as a separate unit remote from the module. In order to successfully implement fiber optic technology for backlighting an instrument panel, it is necessary to ensure that the individual optical fibers within a module are properly aligned with an incoming fiber bundle from the light source. Furthermore, the individual optical fibers must also be properly aligned with their intended target, such as a light pipe which extends behind a cluster of buttons to be backlit.
While other techniques are foreseeable, one solution is to employ mechanical connectors which are specifically designed to align one or more optical fibers relative to another optical fiber, an incoming fiber bundle or a light pipe. To be suitable for use in the automotive industry, such a connector should preferably enable an optical fiber and/or bundle to be readily assembled and disassembled, yet be capable of reliably securing the optical fiber or bundle even when subjected to vehicle vibration and temperature variations. In addition, the connector should preferably have a relatively uncomplicated design and be relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Due to the current status of fiber optic technology as used to backlight an instrument panel of an automobile, connectors which are able to satisfactorily achieve each of the above requirements are generally not available or suffer from one or more deficiencies.
Accordingly, what is needed is a mechanical connector which is configured to achieve each of the above requirements and characteristics, so as to be suitable for use in a fiber optic backlighting system for an automobile.